Each day, McDonald's franchise owner Katherine Shields spends time at one of her three restaurants.

At her Interstate 35 and Walters Street location, she sits at a rear table with a view of both the inside crowd and drive-through customers, watching to make sure they're taken care of. When a recent rush swarmed the counters, she was up, greeting folks from the neighborhood, soldiers from nearby Fort Sam Houston, road-weary travelers and city workers alike as they clamored for a selection from a menu with more than 100 choices.

She chatted with a new customer, who bought two parfaits for his ailing mother, as comfortably as she does with those who've been regulars since the restaurant opened 31 years ago when Shields and her husband, Charles, became San Antonio's first African American McDonald's franchise owners. Six years later they opened a second location at New Braunfels and Interstate 10.

When Shields opened her third site, at FM 78 and Foster Road, however, she did so alone.

In 1995, Charles Shields was killed in a car accident. She credits her faith and church for encouraging her to press on and helping her overcome her challenges. Over the years, she's also invested in the community through educational projects, scholarships and the welfare of her employees, who she counts as close as kin.

“It's a great honor and a blessing to be in this position,” Shields says. “To be able to share and inspire, you can aim as high as you want to aim.”

First choice

Life was good for Charles and Katherine Shields in 1979. They had two small children — a 5-year-old son and 4-year-old daughter — and a beautiful home in Dallas, two hours from their hometown of Henderson. She had a job she loved working at Xerox; Charles Shields was an Allstate insurance agent. But then, a business relationship with McDonald's franchise owner Ed Benson grew into a friendship. Benson became Charles' mentor and, two years later, he told his wife he wanted to open his own restaurant.They secured the required start-up money and he attended the McDonald's Restaurant Training Program at Hamburger University in Oak Brook, Ill. His first choice of where to open his restaurant was San Antonio, a city his research said was projected for future growth. Their only connection to San Antonio had been a weekend visit, but when McDonald's offered him a location on the East Side, Shields says, “It was like a dream come true.”

The night before they opened, the couple hosted a party for employees and their families. After everyone left, they sat in the dining area, looking around in awe.

The couple worked as a team. Charles took care of the daily operations while Katherine helped with administrative duties. They opened their second location on Charles Shield's 41st birthday. Among those in the crowd was Herman Petty, who'd become McDonald's first black franchise owner when he opened a restaurant in Chicago in 1968. Today, 40 percent of McDonald's operators and owners are minorities and women, according to FranchiseExpo.com.

Challenges

Shields faced her greatest challenge in May 1995 when her husband was killed in a car accident an hour and a half outside of the city.

Now she had five children to raise alone, the youngest a 20-month-old. She had to decide whether to keep the business or sell it. Her answer came while praying for direction.

“It was out of obedience to God that I moved forward,” she says.

When Charles Shields was alive, he'd come home at the end of each day, leaving work issues at the door and concentrating on being a father and husband. Katherine had no idea about what he dealt with each day until she stepped into his shoes.

Her family and employees stood by her as she received approval from McDonald's to undertake its corporate training courses. In August 1995, her brother, M.J. Sanders, moved from Longview to help her at the Walters location. And just as her husband had done, she finished a one-year training program and a two-week final course at Hamburger University.

On new employee orientation day, Shields welcomes workers into her extended family. She briefs them about the job and gives them her cellphone number.

And one of her goals has always been to promote from within. That was the case for general manager Carolyn Williams, who, 25 years ago, started out cleaning the lobby and restrooms at the Walters location for $3.35 an hour. Today, Shields says her biggest struggle with Williams is trying to get her from behind the counter and to go home at the end of the day.

“She saw something in me I didn't know was there,” Williams says while in the area she once swept and dusted.

Giving back

Dwayne Robinson, a consultant to Mayor Julián Castro, has known Shields for 10 years. He calls her a “silent leader,” saying she's always mentored youth and shown them how a business works.

“She does it with purpose and is transparent in what she tries to do,” Robinson says.

He said when the mayor started the East Side revitalization project, his group reached out to community stakeholders, including Shields. When asked if she had any vandalism at her properties, she said the Walters location was the least-vandalized property. Robinson said the property was probably left alone out of respect for Shields' role in the neighborhood.

“For people in the community, we respect the way she has kept that location up at I-35 and Walters,” Robinson says.

Recently, when she stopped at the location, the cashiers shouted her name and complimented her on her western dress and hat. Eight-year employee CeCe Gazdzecke, a lobby hostess, gave her a kiss and hug before returning to her duties.

Former employees are known to stop by to thank her for their first jobs. Often, their children aren't far behind, applying for a chance to join Shields' McDonald's family.

“It's such a good feeling that people come back and say thank you,” Shields says. “It's not a dream that can't come true.”